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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27050893">Graveyard</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dralexreid/pseuds/dralexreid'>dralexreid</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dr Piper Bishop [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Criminal Minds (US TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:01:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,844</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27050893</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dralexreid/pseuds/dralexreid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dr Spencer Reid/Dr Piper Bishop</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dr Piper Bishop [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972852</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Graveyard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Piper Bishop was born on the 21st of October to the two most happily married couple in San Francisco. Granted, they’d only been married a year, but they gave birth to a giggling, graceful baby girl. When she was 4, she was given the gift of a bouncing, bubbly baby brother. Her father had whispered to her, she had to be responsible now, had to take care of her Daniel now. And she did, bounding over with whatever her mother needed whether it be diapers, baby bottles, spoons, everything. When she was 8, her mother quit her job to take care of her two babies and a baby girl waiting to be born. And so the sweet, special baby sister was born and their family was complete. As her father grew in prominence from a beat cop to a detective, her mother went from Berkeley professor to a housewife. From there, she became a lousy cook, a deadbeat mom who wouldn’t go to plays and games and could never clean the house right, all until she’d cry every night on the back porch for never being enough. She sealed herself off as Piper grew older and all of a sudden, Piper was 14, making breakfast, helping with homework and dragging her siblings to school. She didn’t have time to worry about high school bullies and she learned to hold her own quickly. No-one would rescue her so she made sure she wouldn’t need it. She kept her grades up as well as her siblings, not that her father ever noticed it other than the burn on the waffles or the mess Daniel left as he drew. Piper made sure to get her bachelor’s at Berkeley, just like her mom. She took care of her munchkins before getting on the train and finally, she was 19 with her first bachelor’s in psychology under her belt within a year and she worked her way up to today, standing over her mom’s grave with a wreath of baby’s breath next to her siblings, a tear falling from her cheek. She’d dressed warmly, a maroon leather jacket adorned with silver zips paired with a thick, grey woollen top and matching fluffy scarf, topped off with a grey floppy beanie. She ignored the cell buzzing in her pocket and placed the wreath on the grave, whispering, “Happy Birthday, Mom.” Her baby brother held out the little cupcake they’d bought and together, blew out the candle on top. As they walked back to the town square, Lucy clung on to her older sister’s arm. “Coffee?”</p><p>“Where’s Piper? She’s gonna miss the briefing,” Emily asked.</p><p>“I dunno,” Spencer murmured. “She hasn’t picked up the phone.” <em>She did just come back from that battered wife case.</em></p><p>“If she isn’t here, she isn’t here. We’ll go on without her,” Hotch announced while rushing in with a new case. “We have 3 victims in San Francisco, all women, all strangled and left in alleys. We’ll go over victimology on the jet. Wheels up in 30.”</p><p>As he packed up, Spencer tried Piper’s cell again. Frustrated, he tossed the cell in his satchel and walked out with his go-bag.</p><p>Spencer tried paying attention to the conversation, but he missed her presence. As he got up to make coffee, he noticed the usually spread grey blanket folded neatly on the couch, a book left on top. Taking his cup, he sat down on the couch and imperceptibly snatched the book up, finding a little sticky note inside the book. Flipping it open, he read the little poem. “To Sleep.” By John Keats. His brain automatically ran through the psychological revelations but he snapped the book shut and returned to his seat, clutching it. He looked through the images of the three women. All three were the same height, 5′,6″ with brown eyes and their hair, medium length and straightened. On their hands, they were wearing the same metallic rings, even the same shade of nail polish, sky blue.</p><p>^-^</p><p>Piper, Lucy and Daniel stood, both little siblings clutching at the older as Piper steeled herself to slip out the key from her purse and as she went to unlock it, her arm was pulled at by Lucy who instantly went from 19 to 9. “<em>Don’t.”</em> He whispered softly. She turned, gently placing her hand on his cheek. </p><p>“It’s okay. You can go back to the hotel if you want to. But I have to do this.” She kissed her softly on the cheek before letting herself into the house, Daniel slowly following. Lucy stood outside tapping her heel out on the porch. She heard yelling from inside the house as father and daughter turned into animals, battling it out. </p><p>Daniel swore his father turned purple defending himself and Piper was almost crying. “She’s your daughter! Who cares if she wants to do film studies?”</p><p>“I do! Is it wrong for a father to want his daughter’s future to be better?”</p><p>“Not when he doesn’t see her happiness when she’s finished her projects! Have you ever watched her films?”</p><p>“Yeah! And they’re rubbish! Just like–” He stopped himself.</p><p>“Go on. just like what Dad?” She spat at him.</p><p>“JUST LIKE HER!” he bellowed. Piper shot him a twisted smile.</p><p>“Yeah,” she spoke quietly, an edge of danger in her voice. “You don’t get to say that about them. You aren’t the one who raised them.” She took his hand and placed her copy of the house key in them. “Stay safe, Dad. Or don’t. I don’t care anymore.” She took Daniel’s hand and left, pulling Lucy up from the porch steps. The sisters hugged the younger crying, the older caressing her gently. “It’s okay. I’m gonna take care of you.” She ignored the cell buzzing in her pocket as they took each other’s hands and walked back down the street. As they crossed into an alleyway, Lucy screamed and Daniel pulled her away from the scene. Piper edged towards the body and pulled out her cell as she rang a familiar number. She quickly ordered Daniel to take Lucy to the hotel as Hotch picked up.</p><p>“Hotch, I’m sorry I didn’t call, personal emergency but I found a body here in San Francisco.”</p><p>“<em>We’re already here, Bishop. You’d know that if you answered our calls.”</em></p><p>^-^</p><p>Derek paced around the conference room, juggling a baseball in his hands. “We know strangling is seen as a mercy kill, it’s definitely personal. What are we missing?”</p><p>“He’s altering their appearances,” Piper remarked as she stood, stock still in the entrance to the large room Derek and Spencer were in. She dropped her purse into the nearest chair and grabbed a marker, jotting down exactly how each woman was changed. Long hair cut short. Intricate metal rings smushed onto their fingers. Nail polish painted on to their nails. Finally, she put the marker down and reached into her bag pulling out an old framed photo of herself from college, then a sky blue nail polish bottle and a little box containing 4 intricate silver rings. “He wants me.” Derek stared at her, the photo and then the victims. </p><p>The lead detective from the case finally showed up. “Sorry I’m late,” he barked. “Piper,” he acknowledged.</p><p>“Father,” she muttered back before excusing herself. She leaned out against the porch, a breeze blowing. Cursing herself, she pulled out her cell to call the only person who could make her feel better, oblivious to the tall doctor standing a few feet away. “Coffee shop. Now. Please.” He watched her wipe at her eyes and walk away briskly. Running back in, he barked to Derek that he’d go get coffee for the team, barely listening to his order. He followed her to the nearest coffee shop a few blocks away and stood in line, quietly observing her grab her coffee and sitting down next to a handsome young man. He scoffed bitterly and politely gave his order to the barista. </p><p>Grabbing the 4 cups of coffee, he intently walked past her, muttering loud enough for her to hear, “Glad you’re enjoying yourself.” He walked away as fast as he could, deaf to her sobs behind him.</p><p>^-^</p><p>Spencer slammed the coffee cups on the table, hastily writing out patterns. He barely heard Emily note that they needed Piper. “We don’t need her,” he said, gritting his teeth. “We were fine without her.” Before she could utter a word, Piper coolly entered the room with her warm cup of coffee.</p><p>“You’re right. But if this unsub is targeting me, I’m your next victim. You still need me to tell you who could be targeting me, or you could always ask Garcia to upend the story of my life.” She took a seat next to Derek. “I wasn’t at Berkeley very long and barely had a social life back then so it’s more likely this guy’s alma mater is Harvard.”</p><p>“You’re sure this guy knew you from college.”</p><p>“Has to be. I’d only ever wear sky blue nail polish in college. Thought it was my lucky charm. As for the metal rings, they…they were gifts from my mom. He probably bought a matching set. No-one ever proposed to me in college so it’s probably some form of erotomania. My best guess is he saw me studying on campus, then started auditing every class I went to. He was probably recommended to drop because he wasn’t attending his classes.”</p><p>“But attending classes isn’t mandatory,” Emily asked, “is it?”</p><p>“No, but when you have high-status professors guest-lecturing every other week, it doesn’t look good for the university if the students don’t show up. If you don’t show up, they give the recommendation to drop the course. And though it’s called a ‘recommendation’, it’s more of a final notice before they kick you out.”</p><p>“Okay, so he was a college student, passing grades, recommended a drop which would have destroyed his self-esteem and he uhh…”</p><p>“He wanted me, you can say it, Derek. It’s the truth. The guy was in love with me and I didn’t even have a clue.” Piper’s father walked in, chewing slowly on a bagel.</p><p>“This guy’s in love with you?” He snorted derisively.</p><p>“Something funny, Detective?” Hotch raised his eyebrow at Spencer’s biting question.</p><p>“What? You guys don’t see it? The girl didn’t have a social life, wasn’t even a cheerleader, no boyfriends growing up and now she’s claiming some guy’s doing this because he’s in love with her? I thought you guys were profilers.”</p><p>“We are, as is she. You’ve had this case for 3 weeks and 3 women are dead, their only crime being that they–” Piper shushed Spencer as she got up from her chair to address her father.</p><p>“You’re right. I didn’t have a social life. Maybe it’s because I spent all my time clearing away Lucy’s mess after she’d finished painting. I wasn’t a cheerleader. Maybe because I didn’t have time to practice cheers when Danny still needed help with his homework. I didn’t have a boyfriend. Maybe because I spent all my free time trying to keep my grades up for a scholarship because Lord knows you couldn’t afford my ambitions. And you’re right. No guy could love me. And how could I expect to, seeing my own father degrade my mother, the smartest woman I’ve ever known, a woman who loved oversized sweaters and niche flowers no-one’s ever heard off and indie songs and freshly baked cinnamon rolls into committing suicide when I was 16?” She scoffed, fighting back tears. “And the only reason my team is here helping your ass is probably that this is the most important case in your tiny, irrelevant career. You don’t believe that guy’s after me? Fine. You can believe it when I’m dead, tossed in some dingy alley for not living up to someone else’s damn expectations.” She stood her ground, staring at him until he walked away. She turned on her heel, facing her team, daring them to challenge her. “So how the hell do we find him?”</p><p>^-^</p><p>Piper sat in the bar, conscious of the white dress she wore, coming down just over her thighs. She twisted her mother’s ring with her sky blue nails as Emily placed a drink in front of her. “Thanks, Jess,” she murmured to her as Derek sashayed past with JJ. Spencer sat down with a drink next to her, quietly murmuring an apology. “Why’d you say that?” </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“At the coffee shop,” she whispered, “you said ‘glad you’re enjoying yourself’.” She noticed him blush but decided to say nothing. She wanted to see what excuse he’d come up with. But instead, he told her the truth.</p><p>“I guess I got angry, seeing you with another guy instead of…working the case with me.” He swirled his drink. “I should go. Before he gets nervous.”</p><p>“Spence, one last thing.”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“The guy I was with? That was Daniel,” she said before hiding her smile while sipping her mocktail and watching Spencer get flustered and walking away. As the night went on, several guys flirted with Piper and left and finally at Emily’s nod, Piper got off her seat shakily and saunter out of the bar into the cool wind outside. She leaned against a wall, laying her head against it and watching the night sky, her gun cold against the side of her thigh. She pulled out a cigarette from her purse and with no intention of smoking it, lit it. Her fingertips danced on the side of her bare leg as she held the cigarette between two fingers. She saw Spencer sitting on a curb a few feet away doing the same. A few tried hitting on her, but most had no interest in a borderline unconscious drunk girl. Only one offered to take her home, nay, insisted. As she kept refusing, he tried to coerce her but after she hit him in his jugular with her elbow, he backed off. Piper exhaled heavily. She was tired of this. She heard Hotch’s voice in her ear.</p><p>“<em>Come in, Bishop, I don’t think he’s here.”</em></p><p><em>“He has to be here, Hotch,” </em>She heard Derek say.<em> “He’s hit this bar every Friday for the past 3 weeks.”<br/></em></p><p>Piper kept mulling over the details as the order came in to keep their cover for another half-hour. <em>Every Friday. 3 weeks. </em></p><p><em>“</em>He hasn’t hit the bar, Derek, he’s hitting the cinemas.” Thanking Lucy for reminding her to wear sneakers, she pulled Spencer and sprinted around the block. She pulled the gun from its holster and they spotted a man trying to wrestle a young woman wearing a maroon cardigan into an alley. Piper held a hand out against oncoming cars and sprinted for him, abandoning her gun and tackling them to the ground. As Spencer pulled the girl away, Piper twisted him around, reading him his rights and cuffing him. She passed him over to Derek who had just sprinted over. </p><p><em>“His name is Ralph Martinez, majoring in chemistry. Dropped out halfway through for tardiness. But signed in for every class in Psychology. Damn, Pipes 100% attendance.” </em>Garcia spoke over the phone.</p><p>“He probably got angry when I got my bachelor’s in a fraction of the time.”</p><p>“<em>Oh, hells yeah Pipes. If that ain’t creepy enough, he dropped at the same time as your graduation.” </em>Piper just smiled and Hotch walked in, depositing his phone in his pocket. </p><p>“We aren’t leaving till tomorrow morning, 10 am flight. No drinking, but have fun.” They all turned to Piper.</p><p>“Well, Pipes, your hometown, what’s the best place here?” Piper smirked.</p><p>“Arcade.”</p><p>Piper sat, sipping chocolate shakes as Derek and Spencer battled it out in <em>Dance Dance Revolution</em> and shook her head at Emily chucking paper napkin balls at Hotch’s head at his every attempt at Basketball Tosses. With everyone busy having fun, Piper checked the time and slipped out of the arcade, down her familiar path she took every Friday night. She sat, criss-cross, in front of her mother’s grave, her wreath already wilting. “Hey, Mom,” she whispered softly. “I helped another person today. 4 people, technically.” She snorted quietly. “I know it’s not what either of us pictured me doing, but for once, Mom, I’m not getting that voice anymore. I got shot a few months ago, I forgot to tell you. I know, I know, I never was any good at taking care of myself. But I feel better, Mom.” She sniffled as she talked for hours to the little headstone, the breeze making her shiver in her little white dress. She sat there for hours until finally, her cell buzzed with Spencer’s worried voice making her chuckle softly.</p><p>“<em>Don’t laugh at me Pipes. Where the hell are you?” </em></p><p>“I went to talk to someone. I’ll meet you guys at the hotel.”</p><p>
  <em>“Okay, but go into Emily’s room. We’re having a Disney marathon. Rossi’s idea.”</em>
</p><p>Agreeing, she flipped her cell shut, before addressing her mom again. “Don’t look at me like that, Mom. He’s just a friend.” </p>
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